The entrance to the chapel and the wedding aisle which leads to the sacred platform were surrounded by flowers. Lilies, lisianthus, and roses were all unified in white, making the chapel, which was already the pinnacle of holiness, look even more sacred.
Our wedding was approved by the central temple only last night. This was thanks to Eric Orleans, the first in line to succeed the Orleans dukedom, who donated an astronomical amount of money in the name of ‘donations.’
Nevertheless, it’s astonishing that he managed to decorate the temple like this in just one day.
I glanced at Eric Orleans, who was holding my hand.
‘It has been all prepared since this morning…?’
Perhaps because he felt my gaze, Eric spoke calmly with a stiff, expressionless face, “I just didn’t want to have a lackluster wedding.”
“It would be your ‘first’ wedding.” I corrected him.
Eric looked down at me.
Eric, with a stature so large that even if I stood on tiptoe I wouldn’t reach his chin, always had a disdainful expression every time he looked down at me as if I were insignificant.
He was like an arrogant young master.
“Oh, of course, it’s also my first wedding,” I added quickly.
At that time, I saw a priest rushing in at the end of the wedding aisle holding a Bible. With a pale face, he ascended the podium with knights dressed solely in black attire without any insignia. I was wondering whether he was being threatened or escorted by the knights.
“This is blasphemy.”
Eric briefly made the cross sign in front of me.
I snorted and said. “Isn’t this what your knights did? Anyway, we need a priest for our marriage to have a strong justification, my lord. There is no human being who lives without committing sin. There are those who don’t care whether they commit a sin or not, and there are those who try not to commit grave sins but end up doing so eventually.”
Eric stared at me, but I ignored him. This was because I saw the priest waiting for us sweating profusely.
This wedding had to be completed before the poor man, who had come here driven by the duke’s successor’s authority and the force of the knights, ran away.
I held Eric’s hand tightly and led him as we began to stride down the wedding aisle.
The priest’s face turned even paler. Eric, who followed behind, also let out a groan.
It was not impossible for the bride and groom to enter the wedding hall at the same time, but it was unusual for aristocrats. Furthermore, it would be unprecedented for a woman like me to stride confidently leading the groom like an ox. However, I was in a hurry.
The sound of horses neighing had already begun to be heard outside. It may be the sound of those who come to prevent our marriage.
I was halfway through the wedding aisle.
“Why don’t you run instead?”
“Shall we?”
Eric chuckled at my answer. As if conceding defeat, he placed my arm around his arm and walked with long strides, we quickly reached the end of the wedding aisle.
“Priest, please proceed.” Eric asked the priest politely.
Last night, he bribed the central temple with money—of course, it was because of my urging—and ordered his knights to kidnap a priest to put him into this position was an unbelievable breach of etiquette.
‘Nobility.’
I looked at the priest with that thought in mind.
The priest began to recite a prayer, sweating like rain.
“I-in the name of God….”
At that time, various noises were heard from outside.
“No, we can’t step aside.”
“Are you disobeying the command?”
“This is the Duke’s command!”
“We have come under the Duke’s orders!”
There were noises like that.
The priest was shaking so much that he almost lost the Bible he was holding. I said to the priest. “I’ll just sign it first.”
I picked up the pen on the podium and signed on a large piece of paper without hesitation, ignoring the bewildered priest’s attempt to stop me.
At the top of the paper it was written:
Marriage Vows
The groom and the bride below… blah blah… I didn’t bother reading the vows written beneath. I had no intention of keeping them anyway.
This is just….
“Sign it.”
I held out the pen to Eric. Eric grabbed the pen with a displeased expression.
“It’s blasphemy. Blasphemy.”
He signs it while muttering like that.
I scolded the poor young master who was suffering from guilt.
“This is just a fraudulent marriage, Young Master.”
That’s right.
This is nothing but a fraud.
Thump. Thump.
Therefore, it’s unfair for my heart to beat so violently.
It must be because of my mother’s upbringing about how marriage is sacred and all that was deeply engraved in my mind. My mother lectured me about the sanctity of marriage at least five times.
That was when the commotion outside momentarily quieted down, the church entrance swung open with a loud noise.
Two familiar people were standing there. One is Baldrick Orleans, Eric Orleans’s father, and standing next to him is my mother, who was scheduled to marry Baldrick Orleans today.
Her trailing white dress spread out beautifully like blooming flower petals. It was the wedding dress she should have worn at her wedding today.
‘Oh my, how beautiful, my mother….’
It was none other than me who chose that one.
My mom wanted to wear a dress adorned with fancy jewels almost enough to buy a house, but I stopped her. Because that dress looked much more elegant and pure.
But now she is glaring at me with a face that is neither pure nor elegant.
“Emeliiine!”
My mom cried out my name.
‘That’s why I told you to live kindly, Mom.’
I looked at my mother and smiled. Then I picked up the marriage contract that Eric had signed. When I showed it to my mother and Duke Orleans’s subordinate, my mother collapsed in despair.
The knights surrounded my despairing mother. I tried to restrain myself from running to my mother.
At that time, the priest stammered.
“According to the temple procedures, there is one more thing left to do for marriage to be established….”
What’s left?
I felt anxious for no reason, so I checked the marriage vows again. Is everything signed properly?
It was then.
“A k-kiss.”
At the priest’s words, Eric and I looked at each other’s faces. Eric’s expression was filled with displeasure.
What–
What?
I shrugged my shoulders and tried to step back, but I couldn’t. There were too many eyes watching us.
Aren’t we a couple who are getting married now?
Eric sighed and he looked straight down at me.
“Just do it.”
“All right. Let’s do it.”
Eric grabbed my waist, which was fluttering like a freshly caught fish, and bent down his large body to press his lips firmly against mine.
He immediately parted his lips and looked at me.
“Is that it?”
What are you doing?
I looked up at Eric with a bewildered expression. Eric looked like he didn’t understand what was going on.
What should I do with this young master?
“Listen carefully, Young Master. You shouldn’t do this at your second wedding. So I’ll let you know how to do it properly”
“… what?”
“Couples don’t kiss each other like that.”
“Then?”
I felt how lacking the noble education was from seeing Eric with his eyes wide open as if he didn’t know anything. Well, I also lack experience… but I’m good at theory.
I put my arms around Eric’s neck. Then Eric tried to pull away.
“Just stay still. Everyone is watching us.”
“What are you trying to do?”
Eric frowned, but I didn’t care.
Rather, seeing his distorted expression calmed down my pounding heart. I feel like it reminds me that this is just a marriage of convenience.
“This is a real kiss.”
“A real kiss? What is that?”
Troubled voices from Duke Orleans’s subordinate were heard.
“You can’t take pictures here!”
“I heard that the Duke’s wedding is being held in secret! Is that true?”
“Oh, over there, over there! Take a picture!”
Afterward, a large number of reporters from the capital rushed in. Everyone was holding a camera.
That damn camera.
Thanks to its invention, tabloids were making money with all kinds of sensational photos. The media, whose obsessed with money, began to escape the nobility’s control. Today, I was going to benefit from the media that only wanted the money.
I said, “If you want a real kiss, open your mouth first.”
“What?”
I didn’t miss the moment Eric’s lips opened.
Snap!
I heard the sound of a camera flash going off. This moment became my dark history.
Perhaps the headline of the article would probably be something like this:
‘Eric Orleans had a surprise marriage after running away at night with the supposed future daughter of his father, Duke Orleans! Sharing a promiscuous kiss at the wedding hall….’
How much effort do they put into trying to appear scandalous so as not to disappoint the people who would read the article?
After finishing my first wedding, I almost collapsed with a sore neck.
After the sound of a ‘real kiss’ which seemed louder than the flashlight exploding, I grinned at Eric, whose face was so red that it looked like he would burst with embarrassment.
“Try to do well in your second marriage, okay?”
While Eric not responding and remained frozen like a broken machine, I looked proudly at my first wedding hall, which had been turned into chaos.
Now, let’s start the story a week before my first wedding.